Fish mouth spreader and holder

ABSTRACT

A fish mouth spreader and holder which can be held and actuated with one hand, easily operated to open the mouth of a fish, hold the fish while removing a hook, and carry the fish, all without touching the fish thereby avoiding being bitten, finned or soiled. The device comprises an L-shaped body the short side forming a portion of a pistol grip and with a piercing point extending generally perpendicularly from the long side of the body. An arm is pivotally secured to the body having a second piercing point extending therefrom and is actuated by a pistol grip handle pivotably secured to the end of the body&#39;&#39;s short side and connected to the arm by an actuating shaft. A ratchet mechanism is provided on the handle coacting with the free end of the handle for extending and holding the points in a set position with a ratchet releasing means on the handle for deactuating the apparatus with a single hand. The arm includes a plurality of pivot connections for selectively changing the stroke of the points. The handle has first and second spaced portions on opposite sides of the body for providing a sturdy yet light weight device with plastic guide members between the handle and the body for preventing rust and corrosion.

Wolfe [451 Jan. 2, 1973 541 FISH mourn SPREADER ANl) HOLDER [76]Inventor: Charles S. Wolfe, 2316 Norman,

- Pasadena, Tex. 77502 [22] Filed: Sept. 2, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 177,250

Primary Examiner Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Daniel J. LeachAtr0rneyJames F. Weller et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A fish mouth spreader and holder which can be held andactuated with one hand, easily operated to open the mouth of a fish,hold the fish while removing a hook, and carry the fish, all withouttouching the fish thereby avoiding being bitten, finned or soiled. The

I device comprises an L-shaped body the short side forming a portion ofa pistol grip and with a piercing point extending generallyperpendicularly from the long side of the body. An arm is pivotallysecured to the body having a second piercing point extending therefromand is actuated by a pistol grip handle pivotably secured to the end ofthe bodys short side and connected to the arm by an actuating shaft. Aratchet mechanism is provided on the handle coacting with the free endof the handle for extending and holding the points in a set positionwith a ratchet releasing means on the handle for deactuating theapparatus with a single hand. The arm includes a plurality of pivotconnections for selectively changing the stroke of the points. Thehandle has first and. second spaced portions on opposite sides of thebody for providing a sturdy yet light weight device with plastic guidemembers between the handle and the body for preventing rust andcorrosion.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures IyHI FISH MOUTH SPREADER AND HOLDERBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of scissor like devices forspreading the mouth of a fish is generally old. However, such prior artdevices have proved to be difficult, complicated to operate and haveproved to be ineffective.

The present invention isdirected to an improved fish mouth spreader andholder which in its retracted position may enter the mouth of the fishwith ease and may be actuated with a single hand to open, and hold themouth of the fish in a secured open position enabling the fisherman toremove the hook or lure while reducing the danger of being bitten,finned, or soiled, and will securely hold the fish for carrying to aplace of storage, and thereafter may be released all without touchingthe fish.

SUMMARY The present invention is directed to a fish mouth spreader andholder having an L-shaped body, the short side forming a portion of apistol grip for ease of handling with a first piercing point extendinggenerally perpendicular from the long side of the body with an armpivotally secured to the body and including a second piercing point. Apivoting handle is connected to the body for forming the remainder ofthe pistol grip thereby providing a single handed holder and actuator.The handle is connected to and actuates the arm around a pivotingfulcrum point for providing a powerful yet easily actuated device.

Teeth are provided on the body with ratchet engaging means on thepivoting handle for securely holding the device in a secured openposition with a releasing mechanism onthe pivoting handle for releasingthe ratchet engaging means by thumb action whereby the present devicemay be actuated and released with a single hand allowing the other handto be freed for other operations.

Spring means are provided yieldably acting against the pivoting handlewith a stop on the body for limiting the movement of the pivoting handlefor holding the piercing points in an overlapped retracted position forease of insertion into the mouth of the fish and for protection frominjury to user when not in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plurality ofpivot connections in the fulcrum arm for attachment to an actuatingshaft for changing the stroke of the piercing points depending upon thesize of the fish being caught.

Still a further object is the provision of an inexpensive but sturdydevice in which the handle includes two spaced portions the first endsof which pivotally engage the body on opposite sides. The second ends ofsaid portions slidably engage the body and the ratchet engaging andreleasing means is supported between the spaced portions of the handle.Plastic guide means may be provided between the second ends of thehandle and the body for preventing removal of protective finishingthereby limiting corrosion and rust.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fishmouth spreader which will easily enter the mouth of the fish in aretracted position and can be actuated by a pistol grip to spread themouth of the fish to a fully opened position and secured there withoutfurther actuation pressure, and in which piercing points will securelyhold the fish's mouth open without slippage to enable the fisherman toremove a hook, string the fish and thereafter transport the fish tostorage, all without requiring touching of the fish.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of theapparatus of the present invention shown in a retracted position,

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the present invention showing thepresent invention in its actuated position,

FIG. 3 is a top view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and FIG. 4 is across-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the releasing mechanismreleasing the ratchet engaging mechanism, and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the ratchet engagingand releasing mechanism of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, the reference numeral 10 generallyrepresents the fish mouth spreader and holder of the present inventionand includes an L-shaped body 12, an arm 18 pivotally connected to thebody 12 and an actuating handle 20.

The L-shaped body 12 includes a long side 14 and a short side 16. Theshort side 16 forms a portion of a pistol grip for ease of holding andactuation as will be more fully described hereinafter. A piercing point22 extends generally perpendicular from the long side 14 and a secondpiercing point 24 extends from the outer end of the arm 18. The arm 18is secured to the body 12 by a pivot point 26 to provide a fulcrum pivotpoint for moving the piercing points 22 and 24 into an overlap orretracted position (FIG. 1) for insertion into the mouth of a fish andfor extension for engaging and piercing the inside of the mouth of afish (FIG. 2) for opening the mouth, holding the fish in order to removethe hook from the mouth of the fish, inserting a stringer thereby safelyholding controlling, dehooking, stringing and storing a fish, allwithout being bitten, finned or soiled. It is to be noted that thepoints 22 and 24 when actuated, as best seen in FIG. 2, move outwardlyand securely engage and hold a fish thereby insuring that the fish willremain secured and not lost.

The arm 18 is actuated and controlled by an actuating shaft 28 which ispivotally secured to the arm through one of the pivot holes 30, 32 or34. The desired pivot hole 30, 32 or 34 may be selectively chosen tochange the stroke of movement of the piercing points 22 and 24 dependingupon the size of the fish desired to be handled. The actuating shaft 28is in turn connected by pivot 46 to and controlled by the pivotinghandle 20.

The handle 20 is pivotally connected to the short side 16 of the body 12at pivot 36 to form with the first side 16 a pistol like grip for bothholding and actuating the apparatus 10. In order to provide stabilityand strength it is preferable that the pivoting handle 20 include'firstand second spaced portions 38 and 40, as best seen in FIG. 3, forengaging opposite sides of the body 12 wherein the first ends areconnected to the pivot 36 and the second ends slide along opposite sidesof the long body side 14. However, in order to avoid removing theprotective finish of the parts, which is preferably anodized, a plasticguide member such as discs 40 (FIGS. 3-6) are provided between the body14 and the handle portions 38 and 40 to protect the finish and avoidcorrosion. The handle 20 may include guard 21 for preventing slippage ofthe hand off the handle 20.

A spring 42 is provided acting between side 16 and the handle 20 foryieldably urging the handle outwardly and moving the arm 18 into aretracted position. As best seen in FIG. 1, a stop 44 is provided forengaging the handle 20 and limiting the movement of the handle 20 byaction of the spring 44 whereby the piercing points 22 and 24 are placedin a retracted and overlapping position shielding the points 22 and 24for ease of insertion into the mouth of a fish, and for protection frominjury to user when not in use.

The portions 38 and 40 of the pivoting handle 20 provide the durabilityand stability for the holding and releasing components. Thus, theactuating shaft 28 is pivotally connected at pivot 46 to handle portions38 and 40. Ratchet teeth 48 are provided on the underside of the longside 14 of the body 12 and positioned between the handle portions 38 and40. A spring loaded ratchet engaging means may include a ratchet lock 50which is pivotally supported between handle portions 38 and 40 on apivot 52 and adapted to engage the ratchet teeth 48. A spring 54 allowsthe ratchet lock 50 to ratchet past the teeth 48 as the handle 20 issqueezed. Thus the lock 50 when engaging the teeth holds the handle 20and thus the arm 18 in a secured position. As best seen in FIGS. 4, 5, 6and 7, the ratchet lock 50 is connected to a releasing lever 56 throughthe pivot pin 52. While the ratchet lock 50 is normally held in a lockedposition, as shown in FIG. 4 by the spring 54, movement of the lever 56,such as by thumb action, pivots the lock 50 downwardly out of engagementwith the ratchet teeth 48 allowing spring 42 to retract arm 18.

Thus, it is noted that the present apparatus is operable by one hand inthat the pistol grip formed by the short side 16 and the handle 20provides a structure for not only holding the apparatus and a fish butfor actuation of the handle for opening the fish's mouth and securingthe fish on the piercing points 22 and 24.

In addition, the same hand may be used to actuate the releasing lever 56by thumb action to retract the piercing points 22 and 24 into anoverlapped and non-engaging position, thereby leaving the operatorsother hand free.

In. use, the apparatus 10 may be used simply and easily by actuating thereleasing lever 56 and allowing the spring 42 to place the handle 20against the stop pin 44 thereby placing the arm 14 in the retractedposition to place the piercing points 22 and 24 in an overlappedposition as best seen in FIG. 1. Thus in the retracted position, thepoints 22 and 24 may be inserted into the fish's mouth while holding thefish line in the other hand and the handle 20 actuated to retract thearm 18 and move the points 22 and 24 outwardly into'the fish's mouth toopen the mouth and securely pierce and hold and support the fish solelyby the apparatus 10. The

second hand may be then used to remove the hook from the fish such as bypliers and placed on a stringer if desired or into a suitable storagebox while fully supporting the fish from the apparatus 10. At no timeneed the fisherman touch the fish with either hand and thereby thefisherman can avoid being bitten, finned or soiled.

The present invention is, therefore, well adapted to carry out theobjects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as othersinherent therein. While a presently preferred embodiment of theinvention is given for the purpose of disclosure, numerous changes inthe details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made whichwill readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and whichare encompassed within the spirit of the invention and the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A fish mouth spreader and holder comprising,

an L-shaped body, the short side forming a portion of a pistol grip,

a piercing point extending generally perpendicularly from the long sideof the body,

an arm pivotally secured to the body and including a second piercingpoint extending generally perpendicularly from the arm.

an actuating shaft connected to the arm for moving the arm about thepivot,

a pivoting handle connected to the body forming the remainder of thepistol grip, and connected to the actuating shaft,

spring means yieldably acting against the pivoting handle in a directionfor moving the piercing points to a retracted position,

a stop on the body for engaging and limiting the measurement of thepivoting handle by the spring for holding the piercing points in anoverlapped retracted position,

ratchet teeth on the body,

spring loaded ratchet engaging means on the pivoting handle for engagingthe ratchet teeth as the handle is squeezed, and

releasing means on the pivoting handle for releasing the ratchetengaging means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including,

said arm including a plurality of pivot connections for selectiveattachment to the actuating shaft for changing the stroke of saidpiercing points.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pivoting handle includes,

first and second spaced portions, the first ends of which pivotallyengage and are positioned on opposite sides of the short side of thebody, and the second ends of which are positioned on opposite sides ofthe long side of the body.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 including,

plastic guide members between the second ends of the pivoting handle andthe long side of the body.

5. A fish mouth spreader comprising,

an L-shaped body, the short side forming a portion of a piston grip,

a piercing point extending generally perpendicularly from the long sideof the body,

an arm pivotally secured to the body and including a second piercingpoint extending generally perpendicularly from the arm,

an actuating shaft connected to the arm for moving the arm about thepivot,

a pivoting handle connected to the body forming the remainder of thepiston grip and connected to the actuating shaft, said handle includingfirst and second spaced portions, the first ends of which pivotallyengage the short side of the body on opposite sides thereof, and thesecond ends of which are positioned on opposite sides of the long sideof the body with a plastic guide member between each second end of thehandle and the body,

spring means yieldably acting against the pivoting handle in a directionfor moving the piercing points to a retracted position,

a stop on the body for engaging the pivoting handle limiting moving ofthe handle by the spring for holding the piercing points in anoverlapped retracted position,

ratchet teeth on the body,

spring loaded ratchet engaging means between the spaced portions of thepivoting handle for engagement with the ratchet teeth as the handle issqueezed, and

releasing means on the handle connected to the ratchet engaging meansfor releasing the ratchet engaging means from the teeth by thumb action.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein,

the ratchet teeth on the body are positioned between the first andsecond spaced handle portions, and

the ratchet engaging means is carried by the handle between the spacedhandle portions.

1. A fish mouth spreader and holder comprising, an L-shaped body, theshort side forming a portion of a pistol grip, a piercing pointextending generally perpendicularly from the long side of the body, anarm pivotally secured to the body and including a second piercing pointextending generally perpendicularly from the arm. an actuating shaftconnected to the arm for moving the arm about the pivot, a pivotinghandle connected to the body forming the remainder of the pistol grip,and connected to the actuating shaft, spring means yieldably actingagainst the pivoting handle in a direction for moving the piercingpoints to a retracted position, a stop on the body for engaging andlimiting the measurement of the pivoting handle by the spring forholding the piercing points in an overlapped retracted position, ratchetteeth on the body, spring loaded ratchet engaging means on the pivotinghandle for engaging the ratchet teeth as the handle is squeezed, andreleasing means on the pivoting handle for releasing the ratchetengaging means.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 including, said armincluding a plurality of pivot connections for selective attachment tothe actuating shaft for changing the stroke of said piercing points. 3.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pivoting handle includes, firstand second spaced portions, the first ends of which pivotally engage andare positioned on opposite sides of the short side of the body, and thesecond ends of which are positioned on opposite sides of the long sideof the body.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 including, plastic guidemembers between the second ends of the pivoting handle and the long sideof the body.
 5. A fish mouth spreader comprising, an L-shaped body, theshort side forming a portion of a piston grip, a piercing pointextending generally perpendicularly from the long side of the body, anarm pivotally secured to the body and including a second piercing pointextending generally perpendicularly from the arm, an actuating shaftconnected to the arm for moving the arm about the pivot, a pivotinghandle connected to the body forming the remainder of the piston gripand connected to the actuating shaft, said handle including first andsecond spaced portions, the first ends of which pivotally engage theshort side of the body on opposite sides thereof, and the second ends ofwhich are positioned on opposite sides of the long side of the body witha plastic guide member between each second end of the handle and thebody, spring means yieldably acting against the pivoting handle in adirection for moving the piercing points to a retracted position, a stopon the body for engaging the pivoting handle limiting moving of thehandle by the spring for holding the piercing points in an overlappedretracted position, ratchet teeth on the body, spring loaded ratchetengaging means between the spaced portions of the pivoting handle forengagement with the ratchet teeth as the handle is squeezed, andreleasing means on the handle connected to the ratchet engaging meansfor releasing the ratchet engaging means from the teeth by thumb action.6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein, the ratchet teeth on the body arepositioned between the first and second spaced handle portions, and theratchet engaging means is carried by the handle between the spacedhandle portions.